Cape Fatucama Explained

Cape Fatucama
Type:	Cape
Map:	East Timor
Map Alt:	Location in East Timor
Relief:	yes
Label Position:	top
Location:	Cristo Rei, East Timor
Type:	-->

Cape Fatucama (Portuguese: Cabo Fatucama, Tetum: Capa Fatu Cama) is a cape or large headland a short distance north east of Dili, on the north coast of East Timor. It is best known as the site of the Cristo Rei of Dili, a colossal statue of Jesus Christ.

Etymology

According to Cliff Morris's Tetun-English Dictionary (1984), Fatu means stone or rock, and Kama means bed.^[1]

Geography

The cape is located at the north eastern end of the Bay of Dili,^{[2] [3]} about from the centre of Dili.^[4] It marks the southern end of the transition between Ombai Strait, of which the bay is part,^[5] and Wetar Strait, between the north eastern shore of Timor and the Indonesian island of Wetar.^[6] It also lies at the northern end of the border between the sucos of (on the border's western side) and Hera (on its eastern side).^[3]

To the south of the cape, inside the Bay of Dili, is Cristo Rei Beach, and to the cape's east, facing Wetar Strait, is Jesus Backside Beach,^[2] which is sometimes referred to in English as Dolok Oan, its Tetum name.^[7]

Since 1996, the Cristo Rei of Dili statue has been mounted atop a globe at the peak of the cape.^[8] The statue is accessible from the car park at Cristo Rei Beach via a 570-step concrete staircase.^{[2] [9] [10]} Pedestrian access to Jesus Backside Beach is provided by a combination of that main staircase and a second concrete staircase descending from about one third of the way up the main staircase.^{[2] [9]}

The cape, and the two beaches flanking it, all form part of the Areia Branca no Dolok Oan, a Important Bird Area (IBA). The cape's slopes, like the other hills in the IBA, including the hills on the land sides of the two beaches, are vegetated with savanna woodland dominated by Eucalyptus alba.^[11]

Notes and References

1. Book: Morris . Cliff . Tetun - English Dictionary . Pacific Linguistics Series C - No. 83 . 1984 . . Canberra . 0858833085 . 32, 99 .
2. Web site: Lakad Pilipinas: EAST TIMOR Climbing the Cristo Rei of Dili . Lakad Pilipinas . 30 March 2022.
3. Book: Município Dili: Esboços Mapa Suco no Aldeia Timor-Leste . 2019 . Ministério das Finanças / Direcção Geral de Estatística / Direcção Nacional Cartografia Estatísticas . Dili . dead . 5 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201117114938/https://www.statistics.gov.tl/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Dili_Aldeia_AtlasCont-x-7.pdf . 17 November 2020 . tet.
4. Web site: Cristo Rei in Timor-Leste . The Elevated Moments . 18 March 2022 . 19 August 2019.
5. Web site: East Timor Maps - Perry-Castañeda Map Collection - UT Library Online: City Maps - Dili U.S. Central Intelligence Agency 1999 . . 2 April 2022.
6. Book: Leifer . Michael . [{{GBurl|hM-9joPZMj8C|page=83}} Malacca, Singapore, and Indonesia ]. International Straits of the World, Volume 2 . 1978 . Sijthoff & Noordhoff . Alphen aan den Rijn . 9028607781 . 83–84.
7. Web site: Raynor . Sophie . The Coco Travel Guide to Dili: A weekend of nature, culture, history and food in the seaside Timor-Leste capital . Coconuts . . 19 March 2022 . 13 January 2020.
8. Web site: Patung Kristus Raja, Wisata Rohani Timor Leste . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180218120110/http://citizen6.liputan6.com/read/327173/patung-kristus-raja-wisata-rohani-timor-leste . 18 February 2018 . Statue of Christ the King, Spiritual Tourism of East Timor . Liputan6 . Indonesian . 31 March 2011 . 30 March 2022.
9. Web site: Lakad Pilipinas: EAST TIMOR The Beaches of Dili . Lakad Pilipinas . 18 March 2022.
10. Web site: Gregory . David . Hike to Cristo Rei of Dili . www.theoutbound.com . 18 March 2022 . en.
11. Web site: BirdLife International . Important Bird Areas factsheet: Areia Branca no Dolok Oan . . 19 March 2022 . 2022.